2018-11-23
Unions and organised labour are the single most powerful and largest global movement of people to ever exist. Here‘s why you should join one.
By Alex Schlotzer
Union membership in Australia has been declining for years. Anyone following the news will read from time to time about how unions are losing members, and that membership in the private sector has all but dried up.
Unions have been pivotal in achieving many of the things we take for granted today, like paid leave, public holidays, Medicare, superannuation, workplace health and safety, maternity leave, the eight-hour working day, minimum wage and so much more. Unions have also been pivotal in the battle to save our heritage and green spaces from the relentless march of developers.
In fact, unions and organised labour are the single most powerful and largest global movement of people to ever exist; it’s the reason big business and the LNP have spent years attacking unions and working people, and dismantling the things they’ve fought hard to win.
Worker’s rights
Right now, 40 percent of Australians have insecure work – that is, employment that means they don’t know when they’ll work or how many hours they’ll work, which makes planning for life extraordinarily difficult.
And now, in this era of the so-called disrupted economy, we’re witnessing more forms of insecure work – sadly being celebrated as somehow leading to healthier work-life balance. The truth is that the majority of people with insecure work struggle to make ends meet and are far too often faced with gruesome decisions about which bill they’ll pay or which meal they’ll miss. We’re witnessing an increase in people having to work multiple jobs just to make sure they’ve got the basics covered.
This is far from the glitzy life we’re sold about the gig economy. There’s definitely nothing glitzy about work that means you are a contractor for a job instead of being an employee. And by being a contractor you don’t get superannuation or sick leave or annual leave or maternity leave or public holidays or paid training – the list goes on.
We’re seeing wages stagnate while corporate executive pay packets get fatter. We’ve seen through the banking royal commission, which the Greens had been calling for over a number of years, that greed is what’s driving their bad behaviour.
But we’re seeing people standing up and fighting back. We saw the staggering amount of wage theft in huge national franchises and now people working in hospitality are demanding their fair pay and an end to wage theft.
Changing the rules
The only way we can tackle the stagnating wages, wage theft, excessive corporate pay and tax avoidance – and make sure everyone has a secure job – is to change the rules. It’s for these reasons and many more that the Greens have come out in support of the Australian Council of Trade Union’s campaign to Change the Rules. Every member should get behind this campaign to restore the balance in favour of working people.
The Greens have announced our plan to change the rules for working people. But our plan is only part of the story. The other important part of the story is you.
Everyone should join their union, and there’s a union for everyone. By joining your union you’re part of the movement to protect our hard won rights while ensuring we continue the fight for our rights. Our plan only works when we’re working together for a future for all of us.
Driver of change
Unions have also been essential drivers of social change to protect green space and heritage while making sure our governments and corporations are held to account for migrant workers and campaign on issues like an end to detaining people seeking asylum offshore, protecting our ABC, or making sure we have ambitions emissions reduction targets.
Being a member means you get a say in your union’s affairs and you get to elect delegates and the union’s leadership (that’s if the Morrison Government hasn’t taken that right away). And by being a member you can stand for election to be your workplace delegate or stand for leadership positions.
There are lots of other benefits including the opportunity to access a variety of great workplace training programs and discounted services. In some cases your membership covers some professional requirements like indemnity insurance.
One of the great strengths of the union movement is its enduring legacy, global solidarity and ongoing relevance in a world where we are told they’re less relevant. There’s a reason Australia’s conservative movement has been unable to roll back everything. That’s because of the ability of the union movement to mobilise thousands of people to take action – and they have the resources to fight back against large corporate interests.
And for those of you who are concerned about unions donating to the ALP, you have even more reason to join your union.
There’s nothing incongruous about being a member of the Greens and your union. In fact, they go hand in glove – so if you’re not a union member you should join your union today.
Alex Schlotzer is a former Co-Convenor of the Australian Greens.
Disclosure: Alex has worked for the Australian union movement for close to two decades including pioneering digital organising and campaigning at the Australian Council of Trade Unions.